UCLA Readies For USC With Pac-12 South Title Bid Secured

(AP) — The Bruins earned a berth in the inaugural Pac-12 title game when the Utah Utes fell to the Colorado Buffaloes on Friday afternoon.

UCLA (6-5, 5-3) is in second place in the South behind USC (9-2, 6-2), but the Trojans are ineligible for the postseason and will be playing their season finale.

“One of the goals we established as a team when we entered camp this fall was to play for the first-ever Pac-12 title,” said head coach Rick Neuheisel. “Keeping in mind that we are still focused on beating USC tomorrow night, we are certainly excited to represent the South Division on December 2nd in the conference championship game.”

It’s clear that USC will be eager to the 2011 season on a high note. The Trojans moved into the top 10 after last Saturday’s 38-35 win over then-No. 4 Oregon.

“I think this was a defining game for us,” quarterback Matt Barkley said. “We set ourselves apart on both sides of the ball.”

Barkley threw for four touchdowns and 323 yards. His 33 TD passes lead the Pac-12 in a season in which probable No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck of Stanford has received much of the hype.

Last week’s big effort came despite star receiver Robert Woods playing through a number of injuries. Woods still had seven catches for 53 yards and two scores.

Woods’ 13 touchdown catches and 99 receptions lead the conference and his 1,179 yards rank him third. He needs four catches to break Keyshawn Johnson’s single-season conference record, set in 1995.

Freshman Marqise Lee has also been impressive, catching eight passes for a season-high 187 yards and one touchdown last week. Lee is 81 yards shy of 1,000.

The Trojans have averaged 42.0 points over their last four games, with Barkley amassing 14 touchdowns to three interceptions in that span.

The strong recent play has given hope to a program that was under a cloud when Lane Kiffin took over as coach before last season, with USC facing a two-year postseason ban that will end after this game.

“They’re a lot of young guys,” Kiffin said. “There are very few seniors on the roster. I think half our roster has never played college football before this year. For these guys to come together like they have over the last five or six weeks has been great to see. We’re very excited for our fans and for our players.”

The Trojans will be favored to continue their recent dominance of UCLA, winning the last four meetings by an average of 18.3 points. USC has won the last six home matchups by an average of 24.5 points.

Bruins quarterback Kevin Prince completed 10 of 22 passes for 90 yards with two interceptions two years ago in a 28-7 loss to USC. He missed last year’s game with a knee injury.

Barkley has a 63.5 completion percentage with two TDs and three interceptions and 404 total passing yards in his two previous matchups with UCLA.

“This season will really help for recruits for next year,” Barkley said. “Next year is going to be really special.”

The Bruins want to take advantage of the opportunity they have this season.

“In years past, when we’ve had the opportunity to be really cutthroat, we haven’t done it,” said UCLA safety Tony Dye, who had a team-high 13 tackles and an interception last season against USC. “This is exactly the mentality we need to take into next week.”